GRAND RAPIDS -- On Feb. 27, the Grand Rapids Griffins sat in last place in the North Division.

For some teams, that might signal a figurative end to the season. Management could start planning for next season while the coaching staff desperately tried to find ways to motivate the players, who either would be fighting for a new contract or sleepwalking through the remainder of the schedule.

But that’s not how the Griffins roll.

Instead, they have responded by becoming the hottest team in the American Hockey League.

The Griffins are 10-2-1-3 in their past 16 games, and have won six of their past seven. After going 3-0-1-0 in a recent four-game road trip, they have climbed into fifth for the first time since Jan. 18 and sit just three points behind third-place Hamilton for a guaranteed playoff spot.

Grand Rapids also is only four points behind second-place Toronto and six behind first-place Manitoba in the tightly-packed North.

After four and a half months, the Griffins finally are playing the way they were expected to at the start of this season. But there still is plenty of work left to be done.

Even though the Griffins have been on a roll, the process of moving up in the standings has been slow. All of the teams in front of them have won at least five of their past 10 games, making continued success a necessity for Grand Rapids.

Fifth place won’t get them into the postseason. Fourth most likely isn’t going to cut it either, since the fifth-place team in the West Division is poised to cross-over and take the North’s fourth spot.

For the Griffins, it’s third or go home.

The schedule makers certainly haven’t done the Griffins any favors. Only six of their final 13 games are against North Division opponents. All four teams in front of them have more, including Hamilton with 11, preventing the Griffins from possibly gaining some valuable swing points.

Instead, the Griffins have seven games remaining against the West, which they have a 16-17-2-4 record against this season. Against the North, the Griffins are 16-8-0-4. Guess who they would prefer to see on the schedule?

The Griffins also play five times at Van Andel Arena in a grueling eight-day span starting Wednesday. After that, though, they play at home only once over their final eight games.

It’s enough to make your head spin.

It certainly won’t be easy, but the Griffins would be the first to concede that missing the postseason for the third time in the past four years easily can be classified as underachieving.

Grand Rapids’ roster has NHL-caliber talent, with Jan Mursak, Tomas Tatar and Cory Emmerton all making their Detroit Red Wings debuts this season, and Jamie Tardif and Ilari Filppula making strong cases for their own promotions. Veterans such as Chris Minard and Jamie Johnson are coming on strong, and the goaltending of Jordan Pearce has been invaluable.

The Griffins are healthy, focused and complete, now that the Red Wings finally have returned goalie Joey MacDonald.

Everything is in place for one last push for the playoffs.

Of course, the Griffins wouldn’t be in this situation if they had taken care of business earlier in the season. But they’re closer to first than they are to last.

But this is the reality that the Griffins find themselves in, and they have more than enough talent, skill, leadership and experience to drive them into the playoffs.

The uphill climb remains steep, but it looks like they might be peaking just in the nick of time.﻿